Linseed oil is a highly effective, traditional flooring conditioner which forms the active component in a number of floor conditioner formulations. These traditional flooring conditioners contain solvents for the linseed oil phase. These solvent carriers are environmentally harmful, flammable, toxic and often times contribute to a spontaneous reaction.
Linseed oil, which is a relatively heavy oil closely approaching the chemical structure of a wax, is capable of providing a very desirable finish on wood and wood related products. Walters, U.S. Pat. No. 1,136,742 discloses a mixture of linseed oil, coal oil, other oils and a quantity of water. This represents a very early effort for making furniture polish. Jamieson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,043,541 and Shuter, U.S. Pat. No. 2,081,073 both disclose a similar formulation in playing soluble solvents.
Deguide, U.S. Pat. No. 2,126,096 forms a barium soap from barium hydroxide, linseed oil and water, along with flammable solvents. In the same line, Lyons, U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,879 reacts with linseed oil to form a product that is added to a solvent, such as an aromatic petroleum solvent, to adjust viscosity. Snellgrove, U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,999 mixes linseed oil with turpentine, naphtha and water to form a wax. Finally, Raney, U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,611 calls for a combination of linseed oil, turpentine and vinegar. As noted, none of these patents disclose a combination of linseed oil and a carrier system that does not employ solvent carriers which are flammable, toxic or otherwise environmentally harmful.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a formulation using linseed oil as a flooring conditioner in a formulation which does not involve flammable solvents.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a linseed oil for conditioning formulations in which water functions as the solvent and, additionally, in which water is not present to sufficient a degree to cause damage to wood and other cellulosic materials being conditioned.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.